The Singapore Biennale 2008 is the follow up to the highly successful inaugural event in 2006. This biannual event is organised by the National Arts Council of Singapore to nuture the appreciation of art amoung Singaporeans and to promote the country as an international visual arts hub. The Singapore Biennale 2008 showcases the works of 50 to 65 international and local artists and is experienced across the pictureseque cityscape of Singapore.
To let you have a feel of the event, we (editors of heartinsg) took a trip down to the Singapore Biennale to give you a full report of the event.
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BIENNALE SINGAPORE 2008
Our first stop to the Biennale starts at this historical building, the “ Old Supreme Court” . This classical architecture facing Padang grounds was built between 1930s-1940s and was design by Frank Dorrington Ward of the Public Works Department! The building on its own is already history and is now being preserve to become a place for the arts, culture and heritage.
Joan, me and dina having a fair share of the spotlight.
The first art piece we saw was quite shocking. They were maggots figurines individually made by a Vietnamese artist
The 2nd art piece was done up by a Korean artist which mold a root vegetable (gourd) into faces. All of us felt that it was a little scary except for Joan who thought it was a brilliant piece of artwork and she even wanted it in her room!
The walk up the staircase showcased a large art painting which is made up of squeezed paint! Imagine the number of paint used!
Moving on to a bigger room in the Old Supreme Court. The flooring of this spacious room is a large satellite print of Singapore! Little square " post its" were given to us and the novelty of being part of an art piece thrilled us all. We spent the longest time in this place looking for our houses and school, we even got a glimpse of Temasek Polytechnic. Other fellow Temasek students have also stick their mark and declared themselves as "patriotic students of Temasek Poly".
Yes, you won't miss the infamous ERP road sign!
Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) is a structure that charge vehicles entering the business and crowded districts to manage traffic.
Almost every Singaporean nightmare!
Merging islands use to form the faces of this exceptional art piece, it is also one of dina's favourite!
presenting our model, DINA(:
Our last stop in the Supreme Court is an art piece made in video form. We watched in silence for close to 5 minutes, the artist indeed made his stand about solitude.
The next stop is at the South Beach Development place where many abstract art was on display. Just like the Old Supreme Court building, it is also a place of history and has been use recently for many art displays.
For the better part of 20th century, the site (previously known as Beach Road Camp) had been used as the headquarters of Singapore’s volunteer defence forces. In February 2000, Beach Road Camp closed its doors and was given conservation status on 9 October 2002.
The white erected wall shows the words " one hundred years of solitude"
it was a very fresh experience for me. i'm in love with a hundred years of solitude sign! i am freaked out by joan's scary picture (THE RING) in front of the fluorescent lights. wish i had taken more pictures, but overall i still enjoyed myself and will be back for the next Biennale (:
Thought the displays on south beach road was partly abstract and mostly deep, not recommended for superficial art lovers. There were quite a number of thought provoking videos on display, and although they were not well liked by my group members, I kind of enjoyed thinking what message those videos and art displays were trying to get across. So, if you like thinking, Biennale is a place to visit!
I think the idea of having the biennale in the our former supreme court is a very good idea and it gives a very nostalgic feeling. It gives people a chance to go in to visit this old infrastructure. I feel that the Biennale is a very successful event and I would definitely go again in 2010. :)
WHAT WILL THE NEXT BIENNALE BRING?
Come back for the next Biennale and experience a whole lot more of exciting ARTS/CULTURE & HERITAGE in the vibrant bustling city of Singapore!
trip narrator:
CHARLOTTE
